Chicago Bears Unveil Nike Rivalries Jersey for Christmas Day Packers Game

On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, the Chicago Bears officially unveiled their Nike Rivalries alternate uniform — a navy jersey with orange numerals, orange pants, and an orange helmet — designed for their Christmas Day home game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. The reveal capped months of anticipation across the NFC North and marked the second year of the league-wide Nike x NFL Rivalries program.

The look stays within the Bears’ traditional palette while layering in references to franchise history, the city of Chicago, and George Halas, the club’s founder. Fan replicas and apparel go on sale September 1 through the Bears Pro Shop, NFLShop.com, Nike.com, and Fanatics.

Editor’s note: This article draws on reporting from Chicago Bears.com, NFL.com, AP News, and USA TODAY Sports (Bears Wire), August 21–25, 2026.

What the uniform looks like

Element	Detail
Jersey	Navy with orange numerals outlined in white
Pants	Orange with a double navy-and-white stripe running vertically down each leg
Helmet	Orange with a navy “C” outlined in white
Front bumper	Updated “BEARS” wordmark
Rear bumper	Four Chicago stars
Chest patch	“GSH” replica of the 1983 Halas memorial patch
Collar (inside)	“Monsters of the Midway” inscription

The numeral font draws from the 1948 Bears uniform, connecting the Rivalries jersey to an earlier era while keeping the club’s signature navy-and-orange identity intact.

Design details and franchise history

Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said the uniform was developed in collaboration with Nike and the team’s brand creative staff.

“We are excited to unveil our Nike Rivalries uniform,” Warren said in a team statement. “In collaboration with Nike, the Chicago Bears brand creative team designed a uniform that honors our storied tradition and recognizes the Chicagoland area, which we are grateful to represent. We look forward to wearing our Rivalries uniforms at home on Christmas Day.”

Several elements carry specific historical weight:

• Vertical sleeve stripes reinterpret the Bears’ long-standing three-stripe pattern, which dates to the early 1930s, in a fresh layout rather than the traditional horizontal bands.
• The GSH patch replicates the memorial patch the Bears wore in 1983 after Halas died that January. Halas was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a University of Illinois alumnus — a connection the design also acknowledges.
• “Monsters of the Midway” stitched inside the collar is a hidden tribute to the franchise’s defensive legacy, visible only when the jersey is lifted or displayed.

Bears director of equipment Tony Medlin called the unveiling “an honor” and said he looked forward to fans enjoying the new look.

The club released a campaign video titled “Monsters never die. They are reborn” and shared behind-the-scenes footage from Nike’s “Return of the Monsters” shoot in Chicago, which featured current players and Bears legends.

When the Bears and Packers will wear their Rivalries uniforms

Each participating team debuts its Rivalries uniform during one home divisional game this season. After that debut, the design stays in the regular rotation for three years, alongside existing alternates.

Team	Rivalries debut	Opponent	Venue
Chicago Bears	Week 16 — Christmas Day	Green Bay Packers	Soldier Field
Green Bay Packers	Week 5 — Oct. 11	Chicago Bears	Lambeau Field

The Christmas Day matchup at Soldier Field will be the Bears’ only scheduled Rivalries appearance in 2026. Green Bay will wear its own Rivalries design when it hosts Chicago in Week 5.

The Nike x NFL Rivalries program in 2026

2026 is the second season of a four-year Nike x NFL Rivalries rollout. Eight teams unveiled new designs on August 25:

Division	Teams
NFC North	Bears, Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings
AFC South	Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans

Teams that launched Rivalries uniforms in 2025 — the AFC East and NFC West — will wear those designs again for select divisional games this season rather than debuting new looks.

NFL vice president of club marketing Taryn Hutt said the program “is beloved by fans across the NFL and Nike” and that the 2025 launch became Fanatics’ best-selling merchandise release to date. Nike and the league framed the initiative as a way to deepen ties between football, fandom, and local communities — comparable in spirit to MLB’s City Connect or the NBA’s City Edition lines.

The 2027 and 2028 seasons will bring Rivalries debuts to the remaining divisions, completing a league-wide rollout that has not occurred since the 2015 Color Rush era.

How to buy the Bears Rivalries jersey

Retail sales begin Monday, September 1, 2026, at:

• Bears Pro Shop and ChicagoBears.com/Rivalries
• NFLShop.com, Nike.com, and Fanatics.com
• Select retail locations and international NFL Shop sites

The on-field debut remains more than four months away, but the August reveal gave fans a full look at the navy-orange combination before preorders open.

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Discussion

The Bears stayed inside their classic color lane — but an all-orange pants-and-helmet pairing against Green Bay on Christmas is a statement nonetheless.

1. Does the Rivalries uniform strike the right balance between honoring Bears history and offering something new — or does the vertical stripe and full-orange look feel like a step too far from tradition?

2. Green Bay debuts its Rivalries uniform at Lambeau in Week 5, and Chicago answers at Soldier Field on Christmas Day. Which matchup will matter more for bragging rights — and does the uniform add real weight to either game?

Share whether you’re planning to buy a replica when sales open September 1, and how you rank this look against the Bears’ orange alternate jersey and 1936 throwbacks.

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